Biometric identification systems based on fingerprints and the iris are well known in the prior art. For the most part, the prior art systems rely on fixed, i.e. wired, computer networks and they are not deployed in portable systems.
One biometric technology, that is a particular focus of the present invention, involves the visual examination of the attributes of the iris of the human eye. The iris of the human eye has random patterns of striations, ciliary processes, crypts, rings, furrows and other features which are shown to be capable of generating highly unique biometric templates for personal identification. Reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,349, “Iris Recognition System”, issued to Flom et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,560, “Biometric Personal Identification System Based on Iris Analysis”, issued to Daugman. These patents are directed to biometric identification methods wherein the visible texture of a person's iris can be used to distinguish one person from another with great accuracy.
A typical iris recognition system, as currently known in the art, involves the use of an imager to video image the iris of a person to be identified, an encoding means for processing and encoding the image to produce a unique biometric template, and processing means for comparing the encoded template with templates stored in a database. Specific methods of generating templates and comparing templates are also well known in the art as exemplified by '560 patent to Daugman identified hereinabove. These templates may be used to identify individual irises in a 1-to-n comparison with extremely low error rates.
While these systems have been implemented in fixed installations with a high degree of success and market recognition, the prior art systems have been limited to fixed, hard-wired systems, which can leverage the speed and processing power of larger computer systems. The known iris identification systems capture the iris images using stationary optical platforms that are large, complex, and expensive, and the systems are difficult to use, even with cooperation of the subject being identified. As a result, their usefulness in many real-time applications is limited.
Although the art of biometric recognition systems is well developed, there still remain problems inherent in these technologies, particularly the lack of a portable or handheld device specifically designed to solve the problems inherent in capturing a close-up, high-quality, properly focused image of the face, or iris of the eye. Therefore, a need exists for a portable, hand-held biometric capture device that overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art.